The White Sox reinstated Miguel Vargas (strained oblique) from the 10-day injured list before their 9-6 victory Tuesday against the Tigers. He batted sixth and played first base.
‘‘Excited to have Vargy out there,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘He’s just been solid for us all year, somebody that you trust offensively constructing good at-bats, defensively, on the bases. He’s a team leader [and] somebody that we’ve missed and [are] excited to have back.’’
Vargas was batting .314/.352/.549 with three home runs in his last 12 games before the injury. He went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored in his return.
With Vargas back, infielder Curtis Mead, whom the Sox acquired from the Rays at the trade deadline, started at third. With the Sox trailing by a run in the fifth inning, Mead hit an RBI single as part of a five-run rally. He finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Experience will be the best teacher for Mead. The Sox are betting on his top-prospect pedigree and track record in the minors. With the team in a rebuilding phase, they can afford to let Mead play through growing pains.
‘‘We need to find out about Curtis, and we haven’t seen him [at third] at the big-league level, so part of that is to explore what the best alignment is going to be,’’ Venable said.
While it’s unlikely Mead can turn into a good defender at the position, if he can be average and hit well enough, the Sox will take that trade-off. Entering play Tuesday, Mead was batting .227/.320/.227 in his first seven games with the Sox.
Benintendi moving down in lineup
Venable moved left fielder Andrew Benintendi down to fifth — he usually bats third — in the batting order because of his struggles at the plate.
Entering play Tuesday, Benintendi was striking out more since the All-Star break (21.2%) than he did before it (15.6%) and wasn’t hitting the ball in the air as often.
It has been another struggle of a season for Benintendi, who only has shown glimpses of the hitter the Sox hoped they were acquiring when they signed him to a five-year, $75 million contract in 2022.
‘‘He had done a nice job earlier this season pulling the ball in the air, but you also saw some base hits to left field and using the whole field,’’ Venable said of Benintendi. ‘‘He’s got to get back to that kind of direction — middle of the field.’’
Benintendi is hitting the ball harder than he did before the break, but much of that is coming on the ground. Venable said Benintendi has to make an adjustment to stay through the ball to attack the opposite side of the field.
‘‘He’s just a tick away,’’ Venable said. ‘‘He’s been in a spot where he’s taken some really good swings, just missing a couple.’’
Roster moves
• Before the game, the Sox selected the contract of right-hander Yoendrys Gomez from Triple-A Charlotte and optioned right-hander Elvis Peguero to Charlotte. Gomez started and allowed one run and struck out seven in five innings.
• Outfielder Corey Julks was designated for assignment.